Micah is still a fairly picky, disinterested eater but fortunately seems to be growing a little less picky. On the bright side, He'll eat a variety of fruits and loves certain raw vegetables such as red pepper and carrots. Chicken is now palatable to him which is amazing as up until the last few weeks, he has been a little vegetarian!

Anyways, like many children, Micah is experimenting with a few meal time tricks he naively assumes will trick mommy and daddy into thinking he is done with his food. For example, 2 or 3 times lately, he has said, "I all done mommy" in a triumphant voice, jumping up from the table and rushing to play with his toys. I look at the plate suspiciously as only a few moments prior, there was still quite a bit of food left on the plate. Sure enough, I open the garbage lid in the kitchen and there is the rest of his food! A ha!

It reminds me of when my younger sister was little and she used to try to nonchalantly fling food over her shoulders during dinner or there were my two cousins Jess and John who would hide their uneaten food all over the house. My aunt would be cleaning and sure enough, there would be some once edible object behind the T.V. or couch.

These little cunning beings! There is always a new issue to address but, on the bright side, at least Micah knows uneaten food doesn't belong on the floor anymore!:)

Never in my life did I expect I could feel such a bond with two children yet having Ellie only made me realize I have more love than I ever knew to give. Having a little mama's girl after navigating motherhood the first few years with a bonified daddy's boy has given me a much needed boost of confidence, an assurance that each child is unique and different but I must not take their natural inclinations personally.


I miss the many days when Ellie would be snugly attached to me in her little baby sling, all cozy and fast asleep. For so many months, she shunned the stroller but eventually learned mama simply could not carry her around everywhere anymore and so, she quickly adapted but sometimes, I long for the coziness again!

Ellie means "shining light" and all I can say is that every day, Ellie Rebekah brightens our day. Her almond shaped blue eyes fairly gleam almost to over flowing with life, joy and curiosity...she seems to be extremely adventurous and able to find interest in the most mundane objects...for example a roll of toilet paper will keep her interested for hours and her feet, oh her feet! Bare or with shoes on, she seems to think her feet are just the tastiest, most fascinating things to play with!;)

God, thank you for Ellie. I do not deserve her and Micah yet you have given them to Rick and I and all I can say is I marvel at the way you know exactly what children we need to sanctify us, challenge us and grow us as individuals, spouses and parents.



Physical Milestones:

Ellie is crawling still, pulling herself up and walking while holding on to objects, clapping, waving, pointing a lot, shakes her head.


Verbal Milestones:

Ellie says "banana" consistently and excitedly when she sees the fruit, loves to say "uh-oh," says "clap" a lot, "mama," "dada," and is getting close to saying several other words as well.

(Don't let these serious pictures fool you...our Micah is still as silly and active as ever!:)

We roughed it on the mission trip or at least it felt that way to me. Porta potties and cold showers from an outdoor showerhouse all week. It was a good reminder that mission trips are supposed to take us out of our comfort zones!:)

My dad has often said that as Christians, if you will not eat the food of a group you are trying to minister to, do not even bother going to them because you will only insult them (and rightly so). I would have to agree with him. Food is such an intricate part of a culture...no matter what culture it is, food is a vital recipe for community, for social interaction, and what differentiates one region from another, etc. People take pride in the food of their cultural background and to refuse it is to show a lack of appreciation for who they are.

Last Wednesday night, a group of Christian Navajo women got together and prepared delicious Navajo Tacos for everyone. Instead of using regular, store bought pitas, they make dough and deep-fry it and then put the toppings on top. For dessert, they fry more and sprinkle them with honey and powdered sugar! They may not be the most heart-healthy Tacos ever but they were so yummy! What a blessing that these women were willing to prepare these especially for our group.


P.S. Dear Miriam or Daniel: would you perhaps share the fry bread recipe in the comment section or email it to me? I forgot to copy it down from you guys!:)

So we are back from our week long mission trip to New Mexico with World Servants and it is strange. I feel that though I was forced out of my comfort zone in every way imaginable, I left some of my heart at Oakridge Fellowship and the Navajo Indian reserve on which the church is built.

A few stories in particular will stay in my heart. Tuesday morning at around 10 o'clock, two brothers named Silas and Eli were brought over for kid's camp. These two boys were the only kids that came for all four kid's camp classes and we all had a soft spot in our hearts for them by week's end. (A few volunteers from our group would literally drive up the dusty dirt roads in the area, pull up to houses and ask parents if their kids would like to come to our kid's camp. Within half and hour or so, they would collect about 15 kids and bring them to us). As I was pushing Eli on a swing at the playground adjoining the church, I asked him what he and Silas had had for breakfast. His reply? "we ain't had no breakfast." Well, I quickly decided that must be remedied and so me and the other volunteers for that day took the two boys into the dining area and gave them cereal. After that incident, I became aware that many of the kids are not fed properly and I could tell many were going without meals. As a parent, my heart broke for them.

The day before, I asked Silas and Eli if they had heard of Jesus since our first lesson plan was supposed to be on the story of Rahab. They were the only two kids that first day and I figured we better know where the kids stood before plunging into a bible story. Both said they had not heard of Jesus and so Miriam, a trip leader, explained who God is, how He made them, how He sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, be our best friend, etc. She did a great job and though we can not know now how this might have made an impression on the two boys, we can have hope that God will work to plant a seed in their little hearts. (As an aside, Rick and I noticed many Navajo use biblical names for their children even though they have no knowledge of the fact that the names they are using are biblical such as Silas, Eli, Jeremiah, Delilah, etc.

Perhaps a most poignant story concerns a guy named Antonio. He is a brand new convert, having come to the faith through World Servant's about two weeks ago. His is an interesting story. A carpenter by trade, he has been very successful and had lots of land which made him a target for those in the community who would seek to destroy his success via the help of a witch doctor. Like a country song, Antonio suddenly lost all that was dear to him...his land, his truck and his girl friend. He felt certain he had been cursed and was on his way to see a witch doctor and have the curse reversed when he came upon some people from World Servants.

Anyways, Antonio has also been heavily addicted to alcohol and has become greatly influenced by the native spiritualism which is rooted in the occult. For example, he asked Rick and another guy named Steveo one night,

"Have you guys heard of a guy named Luc, Luceous..."

"Lucifer?" asked Steveo.

"Ya! That's it," replied Antonio.

"That's satan," Steveo told him.

Antonio went on to tell them how Lucifer often talks to him and has told him that he can be a general in his army. Isn't that incredible in all it's creepiness? That just solidifies exactly who satan is but who we in much of North America want to ignore. He has an army and is 24/7 waring against God. Of course we as Christians can have assurance at the end of the world that he will not win this war in the heavenlies but for now, God has given him much power and the prince of darkness has determined to keep as many people in bondage to every kind of evil as he possibly can. He is not cute. He is not some character in a computer game or in a Harry Potter story. He is a roaring lion, seeking to destroy all those who he might. We need to be aware of how much power he has in the lives of so many people so that when situations arise, we might be praying against what is really happening. We shouldn't live in fear of him but we also should not pretend he is not fighting for the very souls of many.

More stories and pictures to come...